


I’ll Remember For You

by plasma_in_ink



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Fluff, Other, Rarepair, edgy grandma, grandma, minor references to violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:54:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23201293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plasma_in_ink/pseuds/plasma_in_ink
Summary: It doesn't matter how much you forget. I'll remember for you, and I'll never leave your side.
Relationships: Mr.House (Fallout)/Lily Bowen
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	I’ll Remember For You

“Good morning, Mrs. Bowen. I trust that you slept well?” If there was something to be said for Mr. House’s most unusual employee, it was that she woke up bright and early and arrived on-time. A holdover, he discerned, from her time ranching bighorners in Jacobstown. That she preferred to sleep in a reserved room in Vault 21, several blocks away, instead of in the suites below was not an issue – no matter the walk, no matter the traffic, the nightkin was very punctual. Even when she didn’t remember where she was, or who he was, or why she was going to ‘the big tower with all the lights,’ she still arrived promptly, exactly, completely on time. 9am sharp.

“Oh yes, dear,” the super mutant snarled sweetly, looking up at his monitors with a barely readable expression on her blue-tinged skin, “Leo was muttering all night, but that noise machine you told me to use worked like a charm! You’re such a good boy, Jimmy – always looking out for your grandma.”

“… I’m glad to hear it,” said Mr. House. He’d long since stopped correcting her on either point. “Did you take your medication today?”

Lily grumbled something unintelligible.

“Please do so,” he said. Jane rolled over with a glass of water and Lily’s morning dose of pills, neatly laid out on a tray – his own supply of cached pills, set aside for exactly this purpose. Lily scowled at it. “Please take your medicine. The doctor would be very upset if you did not do so, and I admit that I require _Lily_ today, more than _Leo_. In fact,” Mr. House continued, “Leo may take a day off. Play the slots, if he wishes. Today is not…” he struggled to find the right words, “is not a day for _smashing_.”

That seemed to convince her. Reluctantly, but without protest, Lily took the water and swallowed her pill. “He won’t be happy about that,” she said, handing the glass back, with practiced care, to Jane, “But he wouldn’t be happy without something to smash, so it should be fine.”

Mr. House allowed himself a sigh of relief. From past experience, he was ill-inclined to play into the delusions of others, but with Mrs. Bowen, that seemed to be the way to manage her. He was grateful that she was so _capable_ at a variety of things, and that her delusions didn’t involve sealing off bathrooms, tinfoil hats, and screaming hours-long phone calls. If he had to acknowledge the existence of her Id-made-manifest Leo, deal with her memory issues, and accept being treated like one of her grandchildren (or, at best, being called by her late husband’s name,) he would. It was a small price to pay for the considerable skills of a _nightkin_.

“You have eaten, of course?” He also had breakfast ready, just in case. Super mutants could go without food for some time, but he tried to keep her happy. It kept her lucid, as well… as far as that went.

“Yes, dear! That nice girl Sarah took care of me. She’s such a sweetheart!”

“Good. Now. Let’s talk about what I need you to do today.”

***

Lily was well-known in the Strip these days. Her presence had been an issue for a while, but people were used to her now and acceptance of her had attracted an untapped customer base – mutants.

Ghouls and mutants were old, wasteland-savvy, and many had caps to spend. Old world nostalgia meant something very different to these rugged individuals, be they former Vault Dwellers, newer generation mutants, or old-world remnants. The only problem was that a single enraged, table-flipping super mutant was easily a match for three of even his upgraded securitrons… but that would be solved in the next generation of robots, easily. Plus, they made up for it by keeping the human guests a little more well-behaved.

There were still issues: While Gomorrah was happy to take these new customers in, the Tops and the Ultra-luxe did not agree to that deal. In response to some complaints and requests, he had refurbished a smaller satellite casino, just for them. Of course, whether they permitted it or not, none of his casinos could deny Lily entry.

You couldn’t kick out what you couldn’t catch, after all, and it truly was remarkable how _adept_ Lily was at infiltration. No lock, no terminal, no sentry could stop her – with or without a stealth boy. Mr. House still wasn’t sure how something so massive could go so completely unnoticed, or how much of that was mutations versus intensive centuries of training. He was going to put it to use anyway.

Lily Bowen, for her flaws, was incredibly versatile. If he needed brains, she had plenty of them beneath the dementia. If he needed brawn, she had that too. If he needed stealth and espionage, she was happy to help. Of course, he paid her, managed her, kept her (and Leo) happy in return. He doubted that the ‘Master’ could have done as much for her as he had.

“Thank you, Mrs. Bowen,” he said, as she placed a briefcase of stolen files on his desk, pilfered and copied from Gomorrah’s inner reaches. They were aways up to something – the key was knowing what, and gently directing their dirty business to what he needed done. These documents would be very useful, indeed. He hoped that the low ceilings hadn’t given her too much trouble. He also did not ask about the bloodstains dotting the papers. If she _had_ run into trouble, then, very likely, that trouble now existed as a bag of broken bones dumped into Freeside – courtesy of Leo who, despite being effectively a mindless beast of an alter ego, was at least _efficient_.

“Aww, look at you, so formal to your grandma… You’re such a well-raised, polite boy, but you don’t need to do that,” she put a meaty hand to her face, apparently bashful, “just call me grandma, sweetie. Or… no, Nana will be better, won’t it? Call me Nana, pumpkin.”

“… Of course...” he hesitated, debating, “Nana.”

She beamed at his monitor, and he was tempted to just… continue calling her that. It felt a little strange, but also warm and pleasant and, like many words often used by children, it rolled easily off of his tongue. She would forget soon enough, though, and he tried to keep things professional by calling her by her proper name and title… but still. For a few hours, at least, he felt he might as well call her Nana.

No reason not to, after all.

***

Mr. House had, in the grand scheme of things, barely known his parents. His time with them had been very short before they had been cut down in an instant by a freak electrical strike. His extended family, too, was very limited – Both parents had been older when he was born, and his grandparents – on either side – had not been in the picture. Even Anthony’s set of maternal grandparents were long gone, so he didn’t even have grandparents-by-marriage.

‘Grandma…’ the word was so warm. He had fantasized about such a person, once upon a time – the stereotypical pies, the big hugs, the smile… perhaps a cottage on a farm, something picturesque, with fresh milk and butter and cream… A paradise with no grades, no school, no bullies, and no lawyers - just clean and honest living and unconditional love. Maybe, he had once imagined, two older sweet people would come flying into his life and bring him to such a heaven under an open sky, away from Anthony, away from the cutthroat world he was expected to live in.

By the time he had entered college, however, that dream had long-since died. Only cold robotics remained. Impassionate numbers. Mergers. Business. Lovers were warm, but fleeting and their ‘love’ was purely conditional. Such was the burden of status and money.

Perhaps that was why he played into Lily’s delusions so readily. He was aware that he was far older than her, but the vibe she gave off – that of a kindly old lady – made him feel like he was much younger. And, in a sense, he was. She had achieved many more of life’s milestones than he had in some ways, had achieved the old-world dream of family (albeit, underground in a Vault long after the world had ended.) She had had a husband, children, grandchildren. She had lived to the ripe old age of 75 surrounded by family who loved her. She’d had a good life.

_And then the Master took it away._

He watched the supermutant as she stared out of the window of his penthouse, eyes distant as she listened to the old and battered holotape for the hundredth time. Usually, he did not interrupt her – only listened. But this time… “Mrs. Bowen,” he said, gently, “Those are your grandchildren, aren’t they?” He already knew, of course and, even if she hadn’t told him before, it wasn’t hard to guess. But one benefit of her forgetting was that he could use the same icebreaker over and over.

“Hmm?” she looked at him, blinking, “Yes, dear… At least…” her expression clouded, “I think so.”

“Ah, I take it that you are feeling your medication particularly strongly today?”

“Yes, I think so. But… the tape helps, dear,” she looked at it in her hands. The holotape was dwarfed by them, though she held it carefully, “When it works.”

“It is quite old and well-used,” Mr. House said, “I would expect it to deteriorate somewhat.”

“It’s skipping,” she admitted, her booming voice breaking, “It’s losing pieces, dearie… like me.” She slumped down, the picture of despair, “I’m afraid of losing it, it’s all I have…”

Mr. House felt her pain acutely. He wished he could reach out, touch her, reassure her… but he could at least do something else.

“If you loan me the holotape,” he watched her tense, but continued on anyway, “I can back it up onto my mainframe and print you a fresh copy. It would be completely refurbished, just like new. Any other recordings you have would get the same treatment. I would also be happy to record any stories you wished to tell me. Any time you are in the Lucky 38 and wish to… to remember, I could play them for you on my speakers.”

“Really? You’d do that? For little old me?”

“Of course,” Mr. House said, “It would be no trouble at all…” he hesitated, “Not for… my grandmother.”

“Oooh!” she squealed. Tears wet her grotesque face, “Oh, Jimmy, you are such a good boy. So nice and thoughtful!” carefully, she handed the battered holotape to Jane, “One moment, dearie –“ she, said, rifling through her pockets, bringing out a few clearly broken pieces of technology – old holotapes, barely functional. “I almost forgot what these were! So silly of me.”

“Don’t worry… grandmother… I will take good care of them.” Mr. House said, as Jane brought the assortment back to his main penthouse terminal, “And you can take the rest of the day off, if you wish. You _and_ Leo. I will let you know when I’ve finished restoring these tapes.”

“Aww, thank you sweetie.”

If she wanted to call him her grandchild, he had decided, at some point, that he didn’t _want_ to correct her anymore. Let her do it. It wasn’t quite the farmhouse dream, but it was close. And, in New Vegas, you could get close to your old-world dreams – close enough to touch their reflection in the water of the lake.

That was enough, wasn’t it?

***

Another day, another successful ‘removal.’ The troublesome Brotherhood spy had had their fun, but would no longer be an issue… just another mystery of the wastes. No longer in the Strip, no longer his problem. No longer Lily’s (or Leo’s) problem.

“Good job, Mrs. Bowen. That will be all for today. Were you thinking of returning to Jacobstown soon?”

“I don’t know what you mean, dearie,” she said. Mr. House had observed her long enough to know that she was fatigued, and what happened when she was. He needed to let her rest, and she had completed her work for the day anyway.

“Never mind, we will talk about it later.” Trips to Jacobstown were, of course, not purely out of the kindness of his heart. The super mutants that lived there were favorable to Lily, and thus to him, and they were a source of resources, muscle, and customers that he found useful. (Not to mention the potential for a ski resort staffed by mutants – that would be an excellent tourist draw!) Maintaining the connection through Lily was favorable. “In the meantime, you’re free to go.”

“You know, I was thinking of turning in early tonight” she said, standing up and stretching, “Leo’s been muttering a lot lately, and a good night sleep helps quiet him down.”

“Then I wish you a good evening, and look forward to speaking with you tomorrow. Technically,” Mr. House reminded her, “It will be your day off, but I was hoping to record a few more of your stories, if you’re up to it.”

“That would be very nice, sweetie…” she said, standing up and giving his monitor a little wave, before lumbering towards the elevator. Mr. House’s mind wandered somewhat – of course, he wanted to tell her a few stories of his own, but recording her memories had become somewhat of a hobby for him. She had lived an interesting life, after all, had seen more than he had in these vast wastes, and letting those stories be lost was… unappealing. She could do whatever she wanted tomorrow, but he hoped… he really did hope… that she would spend a little of it with him. “You know…” she said abruptly, breaking him out of his distraction. Lily had stopped at the elevator down to the Lucky 38’s casino and was looking back at him.

“Hmm?”

“I know what you’ve done, pumpkin.” Her voice had a sudden edge to it that made his senses tingle, “You’ve been a bad boy. Very naughty.” Lily turned to look directly into one of his cameras, and it made him shiver because, in that moment, he realized just how lucid she was – could be. “Grandma hears things, dearie. In Freeside, in Vegas, all around, you know. Bad things. You certainly killed an awful lot of people when you woke up from your nap.”

“I had to secure the Strip, Mrs. Bowen,” he said, voice stern and wary, “they were in the way.”

“Oh dearie, you had your reasons. Everyone does.” The super mutant seemed to study the camera for a moment, as if she could look through to study him in person, “But, Leo knows, that same ‘everyone’ has their reasons too. To kill you.”

“My security systems and securitrons will deal with any threats that may arise. Even you…” he wove in a bit of threat into his voice, “would find it difficult to hurt me.” She had no reason to kill him that he knew of, but he was less certain about _Leo._ That personality’s reasons for revealing himself and rampaging were nebulous, at best, as were his limits.

Lily laughed, a sound like a chainsaw magnified over a loudspeaker. “Don’t worry, _Robbie_ ” she said, turning back to the elevator, “Your grandma would _never_ hurt you.”

Mr. House watched the door close behind her, switching to the elevator cameras to continue to stare, stunned, at the nightkin.

“I did not,” he murmured over the elevator speakers, voice quiet, “Realize you actually knew my name.”

She looked up towards the speakers, posture so calm that he almost thought he had imagined the threat from before, “Oh my goodness, pumpkin,” her voice was as ‘sweet’ as ever, “why wouldn’t I know the name,” she said, smiling, “of my favorite grandson? I just thought it was time you knew I knew,” she giggled girlishly, “I’m old, dearie, but I’m not _stupid._ ”

“You… are aware that I’m older than you Mrs. Bowen? Possibly even by a full century or more?”

“Oh Robbie…” she beamed, “Why should that matter in the least?”

There was a moment of silence as he processed that comment in his head. “I suppose it does not,” he admitted eventually, a smile creeping along his wizened face, his life support beeping deep in the bowels of the Lucky 38, “not at all.”

***

The Jacobstown doctor appreciated his contribution to super mutant science. Lily took her medicine every day, Mr. House kept track of her data, and Leo faded more and more into the background… but her memory was getting worse. She nearly threw away her holotapes and, though she was still on-time, still capable, she would sometimes be incredibly confused.

Mr. House worked with it. “If you forget,” he said, over and over whenever it distressed her, “I will remember for you. You need only ask, and I will deliver.”

Each time, she would smile at him. “You’re such a good boy to your grandma,” she would say, and he would see a trace of the woman she had once been shining through her eyes, “such a good boy you are, Robbie.”

She forgot so much else, had to be reminded of the basics of her past. He would have more to remind her of, too, when his robots finished salvaging the abandoned ruins of her old vault.

But that was the one thing that she never forgot – His name; said with love.

_Stand by me, and I’ll stand by you._ He thought fondly, _Forever, if it comes to that._

She was several hundred years too late to whisk that lonely boy away, but just in time… _just in time…_ to help this old man achieve his dreams in this half-living world.

“Of course. I am, in fact, the best,” he said teasingly, but with pride.

_Stay with me, dear Grandmother Lily. We’re going to go far, you and I._

“I love you, sweet pea.” Whenever she said that, it gave him pause. But, after a few repetitions, he no longer hesitated in his reply.

“I love you too, Grandma.”

**Author's Note:**

> The second of my attempts to create a few rarepair fics for Fallout New Vegas. My goal was to play with unusual pairings with the courier playing as little a role as possible.
> 
> For Lily/House, I wanted to pair them up for a long time. Considering that Mr. House was orphaned, I wanted to give him that familial connection. I also wanted to play up the contrast - attached to a machine, he cannot forget things but also cannot move. Wheras Lily is physically sound but is losing her mind. They have such good potential synergy and I felt that they supported each other well in both an emotional and a capability sense. 
> 
> In this story, the courier is unnamed but they worked for Mr. House, delivered the chip, won him the dam. However, instead of sticking around, they latered out and resumed being the crazy folk legend that they are... leaving at least Lily, if not other companions, behind. Lily has found a place here and Mr. House has found...
> 
> Well...
> 
> Someone he can count on.
> 
> I'm open to the idea of a longer work or story with them (either about the main game, involving one of the DLCs, or a sort of post-game thing!) Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and keep an eye out for more rarepair works in the future!


End file.
